Morgan Hill
– Lap after lap, the two runners vied, dogging each other’s
every move. Then, down the backstretch, one runner edged out in
front, taking a tentative lead.
Morgan Hill – Lap after lap, the two runners vied, dogging each other’s every move. Then, down the backstretch, one runner edged out in front, taking a tentative lead. And, finally, rounding the last turn, both broke into a full sprint, battling for every edge before one of them sprang free and crossed the finish line just ahead of the other.
That was the scene for not one race but two between Gilroy High’s Arnulfo Velasquez and Live Oak’s Billy Wong in a rain-soaked Tri-County Athletic League dual meet finale for both teams at Live Oak yesterday.
In the 1,600, it was Velasquez (4:41.1) who out-ran Wong to the finish line, beating him by three-tenths of a second and momentarily give his Mustang boys’ squad a shot at a team victory. But in the 3,200, it was Wong (11:02.85) who emerged with the one-second victory over Velasquez as the Acorn boys clinched the 70-38 win.
Gilroy coach Guido Zvigzne said the mile race was well-run but that Velasquez was caught up in Wong’s tactical gambit in the two-mile.
“That was a slow two-mile,” Zvigzne said. “Billy Wong was talking to Arnulfo, and they were just jogging at the beginning. (Wong) wanted to sprint at the end and Arnulfo should have taken off earlier. They were playing with Arnulfo, and he took the bait.”
Midway through the boys’ competition, Gilroy pulled within seven points of the Acorn boys’ lead after a double win by Brandon Cortez in the 100 (11.18) and the 200 (23.26), as well as victories by Robert Best in the shot put (50-3 1/4) and Frankie Valadez in the high jump. Cortez, a senior, has shined while filling in for injured sprinter Jo Jo Gutierrez, Zvigzne said.
But Live Oak’s depth proved too much for the Mustangs, as the Acorns won the rest of the events.
Gilroy was also hurt by the weather-driven cancellation of several field events, including the boys’ discus, girls’ shot put, and both girls’ and boys’ long jump and triple jump, Zvigzne said.
“It was kind of a tough meet,” he said. “We’re very strong in the field events but they didn’t run (all of) them. They said it was too wet to run the field events and we agreed to cancel them.”
While the ‘Stangs still wouldn’t have been able to pull off the victory if those events had taken place, the score might have been closer.
Meanwhile, in the girls’ competition, Gilroy could only manage a single victory, by Stephanie Radtke in the 800 (2:37.75), and the Mustangs dropped an 87-12 decision. Radtke also took second in the 1,600 to Live Oak standout Cobbie Jones.
